Asphalt heater



May 1936- J. 5. LITTLEFORD, JR 2,041,359

ASPHALT HEATER Filed Aug. 6, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l E ATT0RNEY$ May 19, 1936.

J. S. LITTLEFORD, JR

ASPHALT HEATER Filed Aug. 6, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 O 00 0O 0 000000 00 O O O O O O O O 0 0 0 0 0 0 0C 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 O 0 0 0 0 0 0 00000000000000000000000000000000 z OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGQOOOOOOOOQOG 0000 000OOOGOOGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ATTORNEYJ.

Patented May 19, 1936 @NHED STATES 2&41359 ASPHALT HEATER John S. Littleford, .lfn, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to Littleford Brothers, Cincinnati, Ohio, :1 copartnership comprising John S. Littleford,

Thomas S. Littleiord, Roger S. Littleford, John S. Littletord, Jan, and Bernice L. Wadsworth Application August 6, real, Serial No. 555,555

8 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in asphalt heaters for road building, maintenance and repair and other similar purposes.

An object of my invention is to provide improved means to efliciently utilize the heat of products of combustion, melt the tar or asphaltum and to heat the melted product sutficiently above its melting point to increase its fluidity and insure its retaining its fluidity while being withdrawn for use.

Another object is to provide for rendering available a continuous supply of heated asphaltum within a relatively short time after the heat is applied,

Another object is to provide for an improved arrangement of heating fines and asphaltum container whereby the relatively cooler portions of the flues are utilized to melt the hard asphaltum and the relatively hotter portions of the flues are applied to superheating and elevating the temperature of the fluid asphaltum preparatory to withdrawing the fluid product from the container.

Another object is to provide improved means for separating the fluid product from the lumps of solid asphaltum as soon as the fluid is formed, and to provide an increased heating area for converting the solid asphalt to a liquid.

A still further object is to provide improved apparatus adapted to resist any normal tendency for the product to become ignited and consumed. My invention also comprises certain improvements in details of form and arrangement and combination of parts to which further reference will be made in the description of the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of an asphaltum heater embodying my improvements.

Figure 2 is a. vertical longitudinal section taken on line 2--2 of Figure 4.

Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal section taken on line 3-3 of Figure4.

Figure 4 is a transverse vertical section taken on line 8-4 of Figure 3.

In heaters heretofore in use for this general purpose the lumps of solid asphaltum, being of a non-conducting character have been slow and diflicult to liquefy in sufficient quantity to maintain a sufflcient quantity of liquefied product to meet requirements. Then for a considerable period after heat was first applied, no liquefied product was available, resulting in loss of time on the part of the operators. Further the liquefied product was liable to flash into flame and be consinned. My improved apparatus obviates these several objections and has other advantages.

The accompanying drawings illustrate one embodiment of my invention in which 55 represents an elongated trough-shaped container for 5 the solid and liquefied material, preferably pro- ,vided with a curved bottom. One or more hinged lids l6 serve to close the top of the container to permit lumps of solid asphaltum to be charged into the container from time to time as required, 10 to afl'ord access to the interior of the container, and to retain a heated atmosphere within the container and exclude the external atmosphere which may be of considerably lower temperature.

The container I5 is jacketed along its bottom and I sides by flue chambers comprising a lower or initial flue chamber 58 beneath and adapted to heat the bottom of the container l5, and two upper side flue chambers or sections I9 located at opposite sides of the container l5 and adapted to heat the sides of the container l5. The flue chambers t9 are separated from the flue chamber l8 by partition plates or bafiles 22. I preferably employ a fluid fuel blow torch 20, of known construction, I attached to an end wall 23 of the flue chamber 25 l8, supplied with fluid fuel from a fuel tank 2|, which serves to feed in to the torch through a pipe 39. A suflicient quantity of air to support combustion is drawn in at the torch in the usual manner. The torch is preferably located at one end of the flue chamber [8 and the products of combustion flow as indicated by arrows in Figure 3, along the flue chamber I8 from the end wall 23 to the end wall 24 beneath the container l5, and thence being deflected by the end wall 24 into a return bend, and divided to flow along the flue chambers l9 to a cross flue 25 which reunites the divided flue gases and discharges them into the atmosphere through a vertical stack 25. The tank l5 at the burner end is spaced from the outer wall 21 so that some heated gases flow directly up to the stack, thus preventing this end of the tank from cooling ofi.

The mixed fuel and air is ignited in the torch or burner 20, and the temperature of the flue gases gradually rises to a maximum temperature at the forward end of the flue chamber l8 adjacent to the end wall 24, and the temperature of the flue gases gradually decreases in the flue chambers I9 from the end wall 24 toward the stack 26. A draw-off conduit 28 and draw-01f cook 29 provide for drawing the molten and superheated asphaltum from the container I 5 at the point where the highest temperature and greatest amount of superheating occur and enable 8. fresh quantity of molten asphaltum to take theplace of that which is withdrawn to thereby provide for a constant supply of superheated fluid asphaltum as required for use, and the first unit of superheated asphaltum is ready to be drawn within a short time after the torch is ignited.

The major portion of asphaltum charged into the container l remains therein in the form of lumps of asphaltum in solid condition, which lumps rest upon an inverted V-shaped perforated partition plate 30 extending the full length of the container thereby holding the solid lumps of asphaltum in the upper portion of the container l5, where they rest against the sides of the container IS in position to be heated from the flue chambers I9, and also resting upon the partition plate 30' above the molten asphaltum, and in a heated atmosphere which tends to soften and melt the asphaltum. The molten asphaltum drains along the sides of the container l5 and down through the body of lumps and through the perforations in the plate 30, and forms a pool of molten asphaltum of relatively small quantity, which slowly feeds toward the off-take cook 29 which it reaches in a superheated condition, and the ultimate quantity of molten asphaltum delivered in superheated condition is relatively large and the heat efficiency of the apparatus is relatively high. The arrangement is also such that the quantity of superheated asphaltum on hand at any time is relatively small and the degree of superheating is ample without reaching an excessive or dangerous degree and it is so located with reference to the flame that it is practically impossible for the superheated asphalt to flash into flame and consume the contents of the tank as has been a common experience with apparatus heretofore in use.

The relatively large body of lumps of cooler asphaltum located above the superheated asphaltum acts as a cooling blanket to prevent any gases from the superheated asphaltum reaching the flue in a sufliciently heated condition to flash into flame. The container I5 is preferably mounted upon an axle 32 and wheels 33 to facilitate its being attached as a trailer to a truck and transported from place to place along the roadway wherever it may be required for use. A vehicle frame 34 of channel iron is provided with a V-shaped tongue 35 adapted to be hitched to a truck. 'A post or foot 36 is adapted to be employed when the heater is detached from a truck to support the heater in a horizontal position. The fuel tank being located between the foot 38 and the heater, serves to stabilize the heater upon its ground supports.

The apparatus herein shown and described is capable of considerable modification within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. A melting kettle comprising a trough shaped container for the material to be melted having a jacketing heating flue encasing the bottom, ends and side walls of the container with flue partitions separating side flue sections from a bottom flue section, a torch at one end of the bottom flue section through which fuel and air are adapted to be admitted to support combustion and to heat the container, a perforated inverted trough shaped partition lengthwise of said container with its edges attached to opposite sides of the lower portion of said container dition rests against the side walls of said container opposite the lower flue section and the side sections of said flue.

2. A melting kettle comprising a trough shaped container for the material to be melted having a jacketing heating flue encasing the bottom, ends and side walls of the container with flue partition separating side flue sections from a bottom flue section, a flue heating member at one end of the bottom flue section adapted to heat the kettle, an inverted V-shaped perforated partition extending from near the bottom of said container and below the flue partition and at one side to the opposite side near the bottom thereof and adapted to separate said container into a bottom compartment opposite the bottom flue section into which the molten material drains and collects and an upper compartment in which solid material in lump condition rests against the side walls of the con-- tainer opposite the lower flue section and the side flue sections.

3. A melting kettle comprising a trough shaped container for the material to be melted having a jacketing heating flue encasing the bottom, ends and side walls of the container with flue partitions separating side flue sections from a bottom flue section, a stack and a vertical flue at one end connecting said side flue and bottom flue sections with said stack, a flue heating member at one end of the bottom flue section adapted to heat the kettle, a perforated partition extending from near the bottom of said container and below the flue partition at one side to the opposite side near the bottom thereof and adapted to separate said container into a bottom compartment opposite the bottom flue section into which the molten material drains and collects and an upper compartment in which solid material in lump condition rests against the side walls of the container opposite the lower flue section and the side flue sections.

4. A melting kettle comprising a trough shaped container for the material to be melted having a jacketing heating flue encasing the bottom, ends and side walls of the container with flue partitions separating side flue sections from a bottom flue section, a flue heating member at one end of the bottom flue section adapted to heat the container, a perforated partition extending from near the bottom of said container and below the flue partition at one side to the opposite side near the bottom thereof and adapted to separate said container into a bottom compartment opposite the bottom flue section into which the molten material drains and collects and an upper compartment in which solid material in lump condition rests against the side walls of the container opposite the lower flue section and the side flue sections, and means adapted to remove melted material from said container at its more highly heated end.

5. A melting kettle comprising a trough shaped container for the material to be melted having a jacketing heating flue encasing the bottom and one end and the side walls of the container with flue partitions separating side flue sections from a bottom flue section, a flue heating member at one end of the bottom flue section adapted to heat the container, a perforated partition extending from near the bottom of said container and below the flue partition at one side to the opposite side near the bottom thereof and adapted to separate said container into a bottom compartment oppo-.- site the bottom flue section into which the molten material drains and collects and an upper compartment in which solid material in lump condition rests against the side walls of the container opposite the lower flue section and the side flue sections.

6. A melting kettle comprising a trough-shaped container for the material to be melted, having a jacketed heating flue encasing the bottom, end and side walls of the container with flue partitions separating side flue spaces from a bottom flue space, a torch at one end of the bottom flue section and discharging thereinto to heat the container, a perforated partition positioned lengthwise of and within said container, and attached to said container below the flue partitions, said perforated partition serving to divide said container into more than one compartment.

7. A melting kettle comprising a trough-shaped container for the material to be melted, having a jacketed heating flue encasing the bottom, end and side walls oi. the container with flue partitions separating side flue spaces from a bottom flue space, a torch at one end oi the bottom flue section discharging into the flue to heat the container, a perforated partition positioned lengthwise of and within said container and attached to said container below the flue partition and projecting upwardly above the flue partition, said pertorated partition serving to divide said container into more than one compartment.

8. A melting kettle comprising a trough-shaped container for the material to be melted, having a jacketed heating flue encasing the bottom, end and side walls of the container with substantially horizontal flue partitions separating said flue into a relatively hot bottom zone and relatively warm side zones, a torch at one end of and discharging into said hot zone to heat said container, a perforated partition positioned lengthwise within said container and attached to said container below the flue partitions and within the hot zone and projecting upwardly above the flue partitions into the warm zone, said perforated partition serving to divide said container into two compartments, one having a less portion within the hot zone than the other, so that lump material to be melted may be Placed in this compartment, and the melted material drain through the perforated partition into the other.

JOHN S. HTTIEFORD, JR. 

